Car coupler centering device



27, 1953 o. A. GARBER CAR COUPLER CENTERING DEVICE Filed Feb. 28, 1951IN V EN TOR. 0521517 022/130:

Patented Jan. 27, 1953 CAR COUPLER CENTERING DEVICE Otis A. Garber,Clayton, Mo., assignor to Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Com-Chicago, Ill.,'a corporation of Delaware Application February 28, 1951,Serial No. 213,067

coupled on a curve to return to normal coupling range, thus minimizingthe danger of broken parts. It further eliminates the necessity of atrainman going between cars to manually move a coupler to coupling rangeso that it will couple upon impact with another coupler. This reducesaccidents to-trainmen and lessens the time required to. couple cars.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will .appear in thefollowing description thereof.

Referring now, to the accompanying drawing forming part of thisapplication and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a striking casting partly broken awayand illustrating a centering device therein partly in section.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the centering device portion of Figure 1partly broken away.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3, Fig. 1.

The striking casting I is attached to the center sills in the usualmanner and is provided with spaced side walls 3 and 4, an integralbottom 5 spanning the space between side walls and other similar walls 6defining the top and sides of an opening through which the coupler shank1 extends.

The improved coupler carrier and centering device comprising the hereindescribed invention may be applied to and removed from such a strikingcasting as a unit, which is an important feature of the invention. Thedevice consists of a pair of spaced parallel walls 8 and 9, the overallwidth of which is substantially equal to that of the spaced walls 3 and4 of the striking casting. A flat base portion In is formed integrallywith side walls 8 and 9, which portion In is formed, adjacent each wall8 and 9, with rack teeth H. The bottom lands of the rack teeth ll arecut away, as shown at 20, so that there will be no weight carried by theteeth, as hereinafter described. Between the rack teeth H, portion Illcomprises a fiat plane surface.

The carrier portion of the device is indicated at l5 and comprises arather thick block of material which substantially spans the space be- 5Claims. (Cl. 213-21) tween walls 8 and 9, and the ends of the'uppersurface of which are provided with upstanding lugs l6 and [1, betweenwhich a coupler shank, indicated in dotted lines at l8, rests upon thecarrier. Lugs l6 and l! insure that the carrier will be moved with thecoupler I8 during any lateral movement of the coupler. At opposite sidesof the bottom surface of the carrier I5 are also formed parallel rackteeth l9, facing the rack teeth ll.

Between the base portion 10 and carrier l5 are interposed a pair ofcylindroidal cam rollers 2! which are in length equal to the width ofthe carrier l5 and bottom wall l0. Rollers 2] have formed, adjacent theopposite end portions thereof, peripheral teeth 22 which mesh with theircorresponding rack teeth I l and 19. Between the teeth 22 the. rollersare cylindroidal, as clearly shown, with the long axis horizontal andthe short axis vertical, when the coupler is centered or within couplingrange; As clearly shown, the top land of the roller teeth do not reachthe bottom land of the rack teeth, and vice versa, so that no weight istaken by the teeth; theweight of the coupler on the carrier being borneby the solid cylindroidal center portion of the roller and flat centerportions between the racks of the carrier and base portion. Thus whenthe coupler is moved laterally, as when the train is rounding a curve,it will draw the carrier l5 laterally, which in turn will cause therollers to roll-correspondingly, moving the horizontal axis towardvertical position, and this movement will raise the coupler slightly.Should the couplers be uncoupled while in this position, the weight ofthe coupler on the carrier will cause the rollers to return to normalposition with the long axis of the rollers again in horizontal position,which, of course, will return the coupler to centered position or atleast within coupling range.

To prevent the carrier [5 from being disengaged from the roller teethas, for example, when a car may be turned over in a car dumping machine, I have provided a V-shaped opening 25 through the carrier IS. Abolt 26 is applied through said opening 25 and also through alindcountersunk holes in walls 8 and 9 and is upset at opposite ends forsecure application therein. The inclination of the arms of said openingsis identical with the lateral and upward movement of the carrier causedby the cam rollers 2| during lateral movement of the coupler in eitherdirection, so that even though bolt 26 is fixed the carrier can movelaterally in either direction.

The side wall 9 is provided with a pair of laterally extending wings 21which extend outward- 1y adjacent the wall 3 of the striking casting,which walls 9 and 3 are provided with alined holes 28 for application ofbolts or other fastening means to hold the entire device within thestriking casting. Outer wall 3 of the striking casting is depressed, asindicated at 30, an amount equal to the thickness of wings 21, so thatwhen wings 27 are secured to the depressions 30 in. wall 3, the outersurface of said wings and wall 3 will occur in the same plane. Thus toremove the centering device unit from the striking casting, thefastening means in holes 28 are removed,v and when the coupler iselevated off the carrier, the entire unit may be removed from thecasting for repair or replacement of parts as may be necessary.

I claim:

1. In a centering device for a car coupler, a base portion having spacedside walls, rack teeth formed upon opposite side margins of said baseportion, a coupler carrier between said side Walls and provided withrack teeth upon opposite side margins facing the teeth of saidbaseportion, a cylindroidal cam roller having teeth formed adjacent theopposite end portions thereof and meshing'with the teeth of said carrierand base portion, the weight of a coupler upon the carrier being borneby the portions of the carrier, rollers and base portion between theteeth formed thereon, and means for securing the coupler carrier to saidside walls for lateral and. vertical movement therebetween.

2. In a centering device for a car coupler, a base portion carried by acar part, rack teeth formed upon opposite side margins of said baseportion, a coupler carrier provided with rack teeth upon opposite sidemargins facing the teeth of said base portion, a cylindroidal cam rollerhaving teeth formed adjacent the opposite end portions' thereof andmeshing with the teeth of said carrier and base portion, and meansforoperatl'vely holding the carrier, roller and base portion in assembledrelationship.

3. In a centering device for a car coupler, a base portion carried by acar part, a coupler carri'er positioned above the base portion, a.cylindroidal cam roller between the base portion and carrier, alongitudinal strip of the upper surface of the base portion and of theunder surface of the coupler carrier being formed with rack teeth, acorresponding peripheral portion of the 4 4 roller also formed withteeth meshing with the aforementioned rack teeth, the surfaces of thebase portion, coupler carrier and cam roller adjacent said rack teethbeing in rolling engagement so that no Weight of a coupler upon thecarrier is carried by said teeth.

4. In a railway car, the combination of a striking casting, a baseportion having spaced side walls carried by said striking casting, rackteeth formed upon opposite side margins of said base portion, alaterally movable coupler carrier between. said side walls above saidbase portion having rack teeth formed upon opposite side margins of saidcarrier facing the teeth of said base portion, a cylindroidal cam rollerinterposed between said carrier and base portion, said roller havingteeth formed adjacent the opposite end portions thereof and meshing withthe teeth of said carrier and base portion, the weight of a coupler uponsaid carrier being borne by the portions of the carrier, rollers: andbase. portion between the teeth formed thereon, and means for securingsaid coupler carrier to said side walls; for limited lateral movement.therebetween.

5.. A, coupler centering device: applicable as a unit to a railway carstriking casting comprising a base portion carried by said. strikingcasting and provided with a row of rack teeth, and spaced parallel sidewalls, a laterally and upwardly movable coupler carrier; above thebaseportion, and provided. with arovrof rack teeth. facing theaforementioned rack. teeth, a cylindroidal' cam roller, between. thebase portion and carrier, supporting the carrier, and provided withcircumferential teeth meshing'with said rack teeth, said carrier havinga V-shaped. slot transversely therethrough, and fastening means passingthrough said slot and secured at its ends. to said walls to secure thecentering device parts in operative assembled relationship,

OTIS A. GAR-BER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

